Mental health articles

Working with men who are violent
The greatest difficulty in helping women whose husbands are violent is that most men do not seek help for this problem. They may fear humiliation, police or legal action, or social stigma.
These are some suggestions on how to work with violent men:
• It is important for you not to take sides in this situation and to try to help the man as well.
• There are also some situations where a man can become violent
as a result of his mental health problems. The first is men who drink too much and become violent when they are drunk. The second is men who are very suspicious that their partner is having an affair with another man and beat their wife to try to get her to confess to it. Of course, the affair is most often imaginary.
• All violent men can benefit from advice on how to control and deal with their anger better. You should advise on how to manage anger.
• Preventing violence may mean helping to set up support groups for men who beat their wife, in the same way that Alcoholics Anonymous helps men with drinking problems.
• Confidentiality is as important when working with partners as with separate individuals. Both partners must feel secure that their conversations with you will not be shared with the other partner.

Tags: violent